All digital technology requires data. Therefore, the pathway to digital transformation has its origins in effective data management. Data management is defined as the approach to the collection, storage, analysis, utilisation, and exchange of data. Without effective data management in place, an organisation will never be able to move beyond the most foundational level of digital maturity.
Like many other sectors, data belonging to maritime businesses often exists in ‘departmental silos’, where each department has insight into its own area of responsibility, but no department has a global view. Data often exists in a wide range of different formats; information is exchanged by email, by USB stick, in print, or by verbal exchanges in offices or on conference calls. Bringing all of this together so that clarity and efficiency can be drawn out has understandably grown into a valuable market.
Measuring the maturity of an organisation’s data collection and exchange infrastructure is simple in principle, but often more complicated in practice. The simple idea is that data must be sourced, collected, translated into something useful and shared efficiently throughout the organisation’s ecosystem. How organisations approach this has improved significantly in recent years.
According to research by Deloitte, the number of professionals reporting that their organisation has a lack of data governance capabilities has dropped from 92.5% in 2018 to below 20% in 2023. Data points form building blocks for information. They transform measurements into insight, insight into action, and action into results. The benefits of digital transformation are impossible to realise without first designing and building the datasets needed to craft transformative systems of operation.
Moving from foundations to maturity.
Effective data processing transforms data into information. This information can then be analysed in the context of business questions which generate insight. Understanding this insight and taking action generates transformations in business processes and performance. Different organisations have different ways of applying digital transformation, but in order for digitalisation to create value for the whole organisation, the strategy must generally consider three key components. These are:
- The processes involvedÂ
- The technologies being used, and
- The culture of the people interacting with them
With these components in mind, the process of designing how digital data can transform value in a shipping company must consider these three components, and how they align with the company’s purpose. Over the course of this and the next article in this series of twelve, we will define them in a bit more detail.
ProcessÂ
In simple terms, process is how anything in any organisation happens. It doesn’t matter if it’s running payroll or dealing with personal email. Process exists everywhere, it happens whether you intend it to or not. The best processes are well-documented, understandable, and repeatable. The worst processes are highly individualised, only exist in people’s heads and change on a whim.Â
The maritime industry’s global nature means that processes occur in different time zones, languages, and cultures. This creates a working environment that is filled with multiple processes tailored to serve these disparate business units. A mature digital infrastructure must interface with these complexities and allow multiple stakeholders to access, administer, and exchange information synchronously.
The nature of the maritime industry means processes need to consider various functional categories that exist within an operation. These include technical management, commercial management, and crew management, to name a few.
For further insight into the pillars highlighted in this article, take a look at our thought leadership report, produced in collaboration with Lloyd’s Register, The Benchmark: Measuring the Progress of Digital Transformation in Ship Operations. This report provides a deep dive into the journey towards digital maturity for maritime businesses. You can download a copy here.
